Brexit, Music stars fear ‘cultural jail’ sentence with new visa rules

Par Nosheen Iqbal - 6 mn

Bob Geldof leads an all-star cast of musicians in a letter to British PM about the importance of EU touring

Last year, the British music industry posted sales not seen since the commercially bloated days of Britpop . Revenues rose by 10.6%, the £92bn ($112bn) creative sector grew at twice the rate of the national economy, and the former London street busker Ed Sheeran became the world’s biggestselling pop star.

And yet the industry is gripped by the fear that Brexit will shatter that success and cause irreparable damage to the UK’s cultural influence and output. In an open letter to the prime minister last Sunday, organised by Bob Geldof and backed by dozens of pop, rock and classical heavyweights including Sheeran, Rita Ora, Damon Albarn, Jarvis Cocker, Simon Rattle, and Brian Eno, the sector ma de an urgent call for a rethink on Brexit.

“We are about to make a very serious mistake regarding our giant industry and the vast pool of yet undiscovered genius that lives on this littl...